A Facebook Group is using the current measles outbreak in Washington to push the sale of a book about vaccines and offering dangerous medical advice to parents. Stop Mandatory Vaccination shared an update to the group yesterday in an attempt to calm the fears of nervous parents. However, the linked video provides propaganda about measles and incorrectly calls the virus a “benign” childhood illness.

Group founder Larry Cook shared the update yesterday evening in response to the outbreak. In the post, Larry reminds parents that they should not be afraid of the measles.

He uses the post as an opportunity to direct members to his website. Additionally, he states he is starting a GoFundMe to help “reach” parents in Washington state.

Below the post, he includes a link to a video on his website. The video contains interviews by two naturopathic “doctors” that provide their ‘expertise’ on the measles. Naturopaths are not medical doctors. In some states, naturopaths are restricted from prescribing medication.

“Dr” Judith Thompson starts the video by telling parents not to fear the measles. Thompson says the measles is a benign illness that rarely has any dangerous side effects. She says most children will have a rash, fever, and have a sensitivity to light for a week.

She says that children only develop complications in rare instances. Thompson says rare complications include diarrhea, pneumonia, and ear infections.

Unfortunately, the information contradicts data supplied by the Centers for Disease Control on complications associated with the measles. 30% of all patients that contract the measles will develop one or more complication.

According to the CDC, common side effects of measles include diarrhea, ear infections, and pneumonia.

– 1 in 10 children will develop an ear infection,

-8% develop diarrhea,

-1 in 20 will develop pneumonia.

Pneumonia accounts for 60% of all reported deaths associated with the measles.

If ear infections are left untreated, permanent hearing loss can develop from the measles. Children can also become permanently blind from the virus.

In severe cases, the virus will attack the cornea and scar the tissue. The World Health Organization lists measles as one of the top contributors to childhood blindness in the world. In some children, the measles causes severe Vitamin A deficiency. Without high doses of IV Vitamin A to increase the body’s vitamin level, children can become blind.

The naturopath asserts that most children will be able to ride the virus at home without any medical help. Again, this information contradicts data provided by the CDC. The CDC reports that 1 in 4 people with the measles requires hospitalization in the United States.

In the most severe cases, about 2 out of every 1000 cases, someone will die from the measles. Children under 12 months old, pregnant women, and individuals at high risk of complications are the most likely to suffer a severe case.

After Thompson gives her speech about the ‘benign’ childhood disease, ‘Dr’ Eli Camp shares remedies for the measles. She suggests using herbs, vitamins, and homeopathy to treat the virus. For children that have fevers, Camp suggests letting the child ‘ride out’ the fever.

Again, the information provided by Camp contradicts recommendations made by the medical community. The Mayo Clinic recommends the use of fever-reducing medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

For pregnant women and babies, Mayo recommends seeking treatment as soon as they have been exposed to the virus. Immune serum globulin or protein antibodies can help reduce the severity of the illness and in some cases prevent the measles altogether.

Additionally, individuals exposed to the measles can receive a vaccination within 72 hours of exposure. If the vaccinated individual contracts the virus, their symptoms are often milder.

The only accurate information provided by the doctor is the administration of high-dose Vitamin A treatment in some measles patients. However, Vitamin A is only given in children that have low levels of the vitamin in their bodies.

Not all children will be Vitamin A deficient. Additionally, the treatment requires a doctor to administer the vitamin through an IV treatment.

At the end of the video, Camp reminds parents that after having the virus children are 100% immune to the virus. She believes natural immunity is the best form of immunity. She says vaccines do not provide lifetime immunity. However, if a person receives two MMR vaccinations, they are immune to the virus.

Finally, Camp uses the remaining time to advertise a book called the “Unvaccinated Child: A treatment guide for Parents and Caregivers.”

Vaccines are still the lowest risk option to prevent a child from developing the measles. The vaccine provides immunity to the child without contracting the disease. Unvaccinated children that contract the measles are vulnerable to developing severe and life-threatening complications.

As always, Facebook continues to offer a vehicle to groups that promote unscientific medical advice that goes against the CDC, WHO, and all major medical organizations.

Stop Mandatory Vaccination group contains 152,000 people that are influenced by the content posted by administrators. Without Facebook, the group would not have the ability to reach so many vulnerable and scared parents.

*Katie Joy is a columnist and hosts Without A Crystal Ball on Patheos Non-Religious Channel. She writes articles on parenting, disability advocacy, debunking pseudoscience, atheism, and crimes against women and children.

She co-hosts the YouTube show, “The Smoking Nun,” with Kyle Curtis. The show airs weekly and tackles pseudoscience, current events, and crime stories.

And how much of that campaign will go into his pocket? We know he lives off “donations” to the group, which are no really donations because he is not a non-profit. He boldly tells his members that he will be taking part as expenses. This is how he makes a living, skimming off members. All his Amazon links are affiliate links, so he makes a commission of those sales. He runs ads on the website. This is how he makes a living, this is his only source of income.

Kathy Hennessy Probably a good percent of those members are provaxers lurking. But, still, the rest are very gullible people with no critical thinking skills.

Jim Jones

Maybe we should offer an access pass for kids who are vaccinated so they can go to schools, churches, swimming pools and other places of congregation.

And the polluted ones can’t access any of these.

Jim Jones

I lived through the times of no vaccinations. I got all these diseases and every single one of them sucked donkey balls.

No video games – no TV, one radio and not in my room. Days of bed rest and darkness with maybe a book and otherwise loneliness.

frostysnowman

That sucks. I’m younger than you but still old enough to have had the small pox vaccine. The chicken pox vaccine didn’t exist when I was young and now I’m almost old enough to have to need the shingles vaccine. I’m so glad I grew up when I did.

DingoJack

Small Pox vaccine? Now it’s extinct (at least in the wild).

quinsha

I am old enough to have seen the measles. I happen to live in the United States. A country where most childhood vaccinations are given to children for FREE. Not being vaccinated and getting the measles past a certain age means that treating the illness, treating any complications, and possibly going to the hospital will either be paid for out of pocket because of no insurance or because the insurance that you have has a high deductible that you have to pay first before you get your medical costs paid for. It will be the very lucky few that has insurance that pays for everything in this scenario.

Trying to treat a child at home means that if both parents work, or if there is only one parent in the household, then a working parent will have to stay home to take care of the sick child for an indeterminate time. Good luck in getting anyone to take care of your sick, measles-ridden child at all, much less for a reasonable price.

I personally have had measles, mumps, chicken pox, etc. To have a group of adults who were very probably vaccinated during their childhoods decide that these diseases are benign enough for their kids to have is the height of hubris.

Believe me when I say that I cannot remember every head cold that I endured, but I do remember each and every case of having these ‘benign childhood diseases” and how miserable I was.

quinsha

I still have my small-pox scar! We stood in line at a school when I was in kindergarten with my parental permission slip in my hand to get my vaccination. I, too, will need to get my shingles shot soon, having had chickenpox when I was five.

B.A.

I had the mumps when I was 5 and it hurt like hell. The MMR (measles,mumps,rubella) vaccine was not yet available in 1969,when I got sick. But I did get it later. I also remember getting the polio vaccine;it was a tiny flavored sugar cube as I recall. Didn’t get chicken pox until I was 19 and it’s much worse when you’re older.

B.A.

Those of us born in the 60’s and earlier got vaccinated;maybe those born in the early to mid-70’s. I had a great-uncle who’d had small-pox as a pre-schooler and he had scars on his face. He almost died. This was in the early 1900’s.

frostysnowman

My younger brother was born in 1971. That’s the last year small pox vaccines were administered. (And it’s extinct because of vaccines.)

frostysnowman

Same, still have the scar. Or vaccination mark, as my mom called it.

DingoJack

We’ve come a long way.

Jim Jones

I got the shots. Happiest day of my life, I think.

anxionnat

Yes. I was born in 1952, and my 6 siblings and I had mumps, measles, chicken pox, but not whooping cough. We all got smallpox vaccination. My mom had a close friend in teacher’s college, in the 1930s, who was terribly scarred from smallpox. I also remember the nationwide polio vaccination campaign. A man and woman who’d had a small child who died of polio, and another woman who’d been crippled by polio in her 30s, talked to all the parents and kids on our block. The couple who had had a child die met everyone who came to be vaccinated. The neighbor woman greeted everyone who showed up, tears pouring down her cheeks, at everyone’s memorial to her small son. Most people younger than I (including most younger doctors) never have seen a case.

Ally

Every time an anti-vaxxer talks about the benefits of contracting a disease for future immunity, I want to scream. What the fuck do they think vaccines are? Basically, they’re proposing a vaccine that comes from getting an active version of the illness as an alternative to a vaccine that gives you a dead version of the illness so that you’ll develop antibodies anyway.

I got chicken pox when I was 19 also, when I was in college. I spent nine days in the infirmary, and it pretty much tanked that semester.

Clancy

I never got measles or rubella, so when my daughter got her MMR, I got one too. I had a DPT about 12 years ago. I’m in the midst of the shingles and pneumonia series. I’ve been innoculated against Hepatitis A and B. I greatly regret not getting the Lymerix shot.

katiehippie

I’ve got shingles right now. Best get the vaccine. I’m 51.

Sharon Horton

I got the Zostavax one, but Shingrix is back-ordered at my pharmacy so I haven’t gotten that one yet. It’s supposed to be a better one, though, and can be given if you’ve had Zostavax. Everything I’ve seen/heard from people who have had shingles tells me I sure as hell don’t want to get it. My Mom, who is 86 and has Parkinson’s, got shingles in her eye and now has a brain infection. She’s being treated and there’s progress, but it’s really scary.

GaLd316

Imagine the number of vulnerable and scared parents that could be reached and influenced if an organization (or organizations) had unfettered access to the national media…
Imagine how you could shape people’s perceptions, and what you could convince them was true…

katiehippie

Yeah, around the eyes is very scary. It’s important to get treated quickly. I’m taking antiviral medication and it has helped the pain. The rash still looks pretty scary .

Sharon Hess

Most Baby Boomers had the measles and lost a week of school. I cannot remember hearing about a single death from measles in the USA, but I’ve read several articles about how the measles virus is being used to treat cancer now, This must be the reason behind all of the fake scare tactics.

Kerri Dolson

Measles really are nothing to be afraid of for the average person. You can’t live your life in fear of getting sick.. the human body is armed with an immune system to combat things we come in contact with, from low levels of toxins, to bacteria, viruses, even minor physical injuries. Our bodies are made to heal. And when we provide them with additional things that they need (natural/ naturopathic and allopathic), they usually do a good job of recovering. Larry Cook is a reliable source and used great reliable sources in this post above. Naturopaths “heal” far more patients than doctors do, who generally are known for focusing on sick care and prescribing meds instead of getting to the root cause. However, this article that was written above is pathetic.

chantel shepherd

since when is sharing info from cdc and peer reviewed studies about vaccinations propaganda?

Katherine Sierra

you cant remember the head colds b/c your immunity was so strong from the miserable diseases you passed.

Katherine Sierra

its not the dead version we are worried about, it is the other things inside of the vaccines. have you ever read the inserts of these vaccines?

Ally

I have. Have you ever read about the symptoms of the diseases you’re so eager to have your children contract? Or ever talked to someone who lived through any of them?

Ally

1) Why in the world would you want your child to be so ill that they miss a week of school? Even if that’s all that measles could do, why would you want to make your child suffer needlessly too?

“In 1912, measles became a nationally notifiable disease in the United States, requiring U.S. healthcare providers and laboratories to report all diagnosed cases. In the first decade of reporting, an average of 6,000 measles-related deaths were reported each year.”

“In the decade before 1963 when a vaccine became available, nearly all children got measles by the time they were 15 years of age. It is estimated 3 to 4 million people in the United States were infected each year. Also each year, among reported cases, an estimated 400 to 500 people died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 1,000 suffered encephalitis (swelling of the brain) from measles.”

3) The experiments are dealing with a genetically modified version of the measles virus. They’re not just injecting people with measles or with a measles vaccine. They’re using a reengineered version of the virus (so, essentially, an entirely new version of the virus that is based on but isn’t really measles anymore) that only attacks cancer cells and doesn’t make the patient sick. https://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2014/05/16/could-measles-cure-cancer-uh-not-exactly/

4) If doctors didn’t want people to know that measles was good for them, why would they be publishing studies dealing with experimental treatments using genetically modified versions of the virus?

Matt Bean

It wasn’t extinct until 77 I think.

Matt Bean

You got off lightly. I knew someone who developed necrotising fasciaitis as a complication. I’ve got a degree in Medical Microbiology and I’d not heard that one. Apparently it’s not all that rare!

Katherine Sierra

wow if you have?

im a really surprised that you still vaccinate your kids. i absolutely have read about the symptoms and more importantly the statics regarding the diseases. i have spoken to 100s of people who lived through them – most of them contracted the disease from guess?what – the actual vaccine. or they had the disease from before the vaccine existed – and guess what they both had better and stronger immune systems afterwards. don’t be a sheep man….

I want free-range, cage-free, dye-free, gluten-free, measles. Could you get right on that since your children aren’t vaccinated?

Sophotroph

When it is spun to imply that vaccines are more dangerous than not vaccinating.

As an aside, almost every journal does something they call “peer review” now. You have to check accreditations and impact factor, or you run the risk of parroting mis/disinformation put out by journals who will publish and “peer review” anything you send them as long as you include a check.

Sophotroph

i have spoken to 100s of people who lived through them

That’s the problem. People like you, who can’t wrap their head around punctuation, think that “these random people nearby who I met once” is equivalent to “all the collected records of the medical profession throughout history”.

Do you think the WHO gets their disease statistics from one old doctor who’s met a lot of people?

Seriously, dude. Think a bit.

Sophotroph

Immunity is specific. Surviving measles, for example, doesn’t strengthen your immune system against a head cold.

The immune system has parts. You can learn how it works. Then you won’t (hopefully) imagine it’s like a pair of arms that punch disease and get beefier with more exercise.

Katherine Sierra

i dont care about punctuation. im writing with one hand from an iphone and breastfeeding and cleaning my house. get a life, im pretty sure you dont have kids. did you actually r ead the disease statistics? you think about it……….sheep….you think about it. i gave my daughter several vaccines and then i started to read experiences and side effects. not willing to hurt my kid to save others. sorry.

Ally

Given how you responded to the commenter above talking about how miserable all of the supposedly benign childhood diseases made him, I’m skeptical of your ability to interpret the anecdotes. For example, you took his statement that his experience with measles was far more memorable than any head cold to mean to that his immune system must’ve been so strong that he didn’t get colds.

Also, did you consider asking your doctor or another expert why those scary ingredients were there?

Katherine Sierra

actually my doctor is pro choice and asked us to make our own decision. he does not vaccinate his own children with all of the required shots. i’m speaking of example inserts that you see below.

Katherine – you have never commented here until yesterday. We do not allow Swearing of any kind on Patheos. Also, we don’t allow ad hominem or name calling. If you can’t speak respectfully, you will be banned.

ok no links google this article -> FIVE YEAR OLD DIES FROM THE MMR VACCINE, CREATING HOLLY’S LAW then give me your opinion. sorry for cursing but this is ridiculous.

Katherine Sierra

oh and funny this is a christian website. how do you feel about vaccine development using dead aborted fetuses? does that sit well with your God?

Katherine Sierra

ok no links google this article -> FIVE YEAR OLD DIES FROM THE MMR VACCINE, CREATING HOLLY’S LAW then give me your opinion. sorry for cursing but this is ridiculous.

Katherine Sierra

can i not show images? fine i’ll write it out —- this is from the actual MMR Vaccine insert –>

Take a look at the MMR package insert from Merck. Scroll to the adverse reactions section, starting on page 6. Page 7 highlights encephalopathy, which is one of the potential reactions of the MMR.” [13]

The potential complications that you listed are incredibly rare complications caused by an allergic reaction. The way to minimize these risks is allergy testing and following the CDC guidelines regarding who should or shouldn’t have the vaccine. If we stopped administering all forms of treatment (and this includes natural ones) in the basis that some people react badly to them, we would have to stop medical treatments (this includes naturopathy) altogether.

really? why dont you google or youtube Plotkin vaccines testimony. Do you know who he is? He used 72 aborted fetuses and testifies in court, I again wish I could make this stuff up, but I can’t – it’s real.

If you share cherry picked bad science and try to claim vaccines have greater risks than benefits, you are lying. If you beg for money (as your only income) and post non stop about vaccines being evil, you are a shyster.